After the disbandment of the Child Beale for School First Eights, the Non-Championship Eight category has risen in stature and promise, affording us some of the tightest and most enthralling racing in the calendar. It’s an especially significant event for all those schools and clubs who do not have the resources to compete mano a mano with the likes of Eton, Shiplake and St Paul’s. The fastest from this category will certainly be mixing it towards the business end of junior eights though, and could be in for an overall A-final berth come next Saturday.
Monmouth School
Joint winners at Schools’ Head with Winchester College in the first eights category. Monmouth made a huge statement this year by acquiring a carbon empacher. They’ve been pushing the Championship crews so far this summer, having beaten KCS in the final of Junior Eights at Nottingham City Regatta, before losing to them by 6 seconds in the open 8s category. They’re stroked by Iwan Hadfield, who raced in the GB top four at Munich International Regatta, so are not without standout athletes. With last year’s winners Bedford School fielding a much weaker VIII than last year, Monmouth will be looking to snatch the gold from them, and have a crack at some Champs VIIIs schools in the process. Indeed, if Monmouth experience success this year at Nationals Schools’, then their ascension to the Championship category cannot be far off
Winchester College
The other crew that can lay a claim to the win in First Eights at Schools’ Head, this Winchester College VIII will undoubtedly be thinking back to their impressive 2017 cohort, centred around Oxford Blue Tobias Schroeder, they were Winchester’s standout crew in the past few years, and this years eight will want to replicate their success with a win in First Eights. Judging from their results so far this season, this is certainly a possibility. 3 seconds ahead of third-placed Reading Blue Coat School, their main competition for the gold medal will most likely come in the form of Monmouth. By the end of the head season, the two crews were inseparable, but much can happen on Easter Camps and in short distance training, and I highly doubt this will be the case come Saturday.
Bedford School
Last year’s winners of the Non-Championship eight category, finishing fourth overall in the process, Bedford School are definitely a boat club on the rise. After finishing 11th in Championship eights at Schools Head, it appears they have moved their focus to the quad, by shifting three of their four trialists to that boat. Saying this, they still managed to win Band 2 eights at Bedford regatta, and reach the final of the J18 category, losing out to Royal Shrewsbury School in the final. With impressive strength across their senior squad, Bedford look to be in pole position to record strong summer results.
Enniskillen Boat Club
Sixth in Championship Eights at the Schools’ Head of the River, and a bold oversight on our part initially, Enniskillen look set to claim a number of British scalps this weekend. Their time at the Schools’ Head would have seen them win the First Eights event comfortably, and they’ve continued to step on since March. When they make the trip across the Channel, they’re fast and a win at Neptune Regatta only serves to consolidate this train of thought. Five of this crew, including cox Rory Farragher, raced at the Coupe last summer, all winning bronze medals in two separate boat classes. They’ve got to be considered front-runners this weekend.
Reading Blue Coat
A school that has gone relatively quiet over the last few years, Blue Coat looked strong at Schools Head, finishing 3rd in first eights. Saying this, they do not seem to have shown this speed in summer yet. At Wallingford regatta, they raced two fours, and in their semi-final, they came 3rd and 6th, finishing 20s apart, with the A boat finishing 5th in the final. Much to come, I believe.
Pangbourne College
A relatively quiet start for Pangbourne, finishing 6th at SHORR, however they surprised many by winning J18 8+ at Wallingford regatta, so hopefully this means a strong regatta season ahead. Pangbourne’s last really successful schoolboy eight was back in the days of Luke Towers and Ben Maxwell, when they also had a breathlessly fast four. Do not be surprised to see them feature highly in the rankings.
Bedford Modern School
Bedford Modern are another school who have struggled in recent seasons to re-create the form of yesteryear. There was a time not so long ago when they had a junior eight stacked full of international talent under Ali Brown, with the likes of Ed Munno, Jack Pooley and Lloyd Mulkerrins all vying for British seats. Although their roster is somewhat less illustrious these days, they’re still well-coached and usually produce a strong eight or quad.
Norwich School
Early season favourites after their impressive 5th place finish in J18 Eights at Quintin Head, which saw them stake a claim as the fastest Non-Championship Crew. However, they were forced to settle for a fourth-place finished at Schools’ Head. Norwich has been building off of strong results in recent years, especially with their 7th placed J16 Eight last year. Having watched the likes of Shiplake and KCS make the leap up to the Championship category with varying degrees of success, they will not want to attempt the chance too early, but if they wait too long, they may miss their chance.
St George’s College
St George’s name is often floated around the top of the first Eights category, though they don’t tend to take the win. They finished in the top five at Schools’ Head and secured an impressive fifth place in a competitive J18 Eights category at Wallingford, which was filled with Championship 2nd Eights and other strong Non-Championship 1st Eights. They’ve gone for an unorthodox rig this year, utilizing two bucket rigs which they will hope will provide them with the extra speed needed to crack the medal positions at Dorney this year. However, whether they do so will remain to be seen.
Prediction
With joint winners in this category at Schools’ Head, we’re guaranteed some tight racing come Saturday. Monmouth and Winchester were equal by the end of the head season but Enniskillen beat them both and comfortably at the Schools’ Head in March. The crew from Ireland look like they’re going to take some stopping, and we make them favourites to take the win next Saturday. Monmouth and Winchester should be challenging for the remaining podium places, but will feel the heat from the likes of Pangbourne, Reading Blue Coat and Bedford, depending on whether the latter choose to prioritise the quad or the eight.
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